UNC students hold peaceful protest in solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement
The protest began in the Union before moving to the Pit
Hundreds of students of all ethnicities gathered inside the Student Union on Friday at 12pm to honor the black lives lost in Charlotte this week. The peaceful protest began with students lying on the floor with raised fists to show solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Students waiting in the Pit for the protest to start.
After a powerful 30 minutes, the Black Student Movement’s a cappella group, Harmonyx, began to sing. Students rose and listened quietly, then the protest slowly moved to the Pit.
The peaceful lie-down protest in the Student Union.
In the Pit, students performed chilling spoken word poetry. “Stop killing us!” shouted a performer as other students snapped and shouted in agreement.
Spoken word in the Pit
“We are all seen as one and end up experiencing the same things. It’s good to come out and support each other,” said Quinta Fernandes, a student on the exec board for one of the African Student Organizations on campus.
“While it is majority white [at UNC], we have people from all kinds of backgrounds. It’s important to educate all of us about inequalities in this country.”